"Son, what's your name?"
As I'm sitting here, in the restaurant of Paul Malone. He's the Capo for the Angelio Family and a very well-known member. He got his nickname "The Mad Man" when he was a soldier. He got accepted into the family very quickly because of his brutal way of sending messages.
He was the most brutal enforcer of the family and still is. The boss needs people like him around for security. Because he's loyal and he takes no shit from anybody. When Paul wants something, he takes it...when he calls, you come running...when he tells you to do something, you do it, no questions asked.
Sitting at the bar, we have the Gigantello brothers, Anthony and Tony Gigantello. They are Paul's bodyguards and they're soldiers in the Angelio Family. They follow Paul Malone everywhere he goes. They make sure Paul gets where he needs to be. The two of them are sitting and joking around at the bar having a few drinks with the girls.
I'm looking at the guy sitting next to Paul. Paul then tries to get my attention and says;
"Hey, did the cat cut your tongue? I asked you a question? What is your name?"
I look back at Paul, knowing that if I don't answer him, things might become unpleasant for me. I gather myself and answer Uncle Paul;
"It's Ricky, Ricky Tomachino, sir"
Paul sits back and asks;
"What part of Sicily are you from, Ricky?"
I think he knows the Tomachino's and he is trying to figure out who I am. I know exactly from what part of Sicily my family comes from, but I can't say that to Paul. Or he will know who my father and my mother were and I'll never get accepted into The Family. And if that happens, I'll never get justice for the death of my father. Realizing all this, I try to change the subject;
"So, who's this guy sitting next to you, Uncle Paul? He looks like he's going to pass out...or die of something"
Paul turns and looks at the guy and he grabs the guy's hair so forcefully, I thought he's going to break his neck off. As Paul is holding unto his hair, he turns while looking at me.
"Do you know why we send a message, son?
I just sit and stare at Paul holding the guy by his hair. I don't know what to say so I keep my mouth shut. Uncle Paul continues;
"It's to make sure that if anyone even thinks that they can do what this fat fuck did...they would think twice about doing the same"
I can see the fear in the guy's eyes for what Paul is going to do next that he tries to explain what happened but Paul isn't a listening person. When he has made up his mind about something, it's made up and there's nothing that anyone can say or do to change it. The guy tries to say something;
"Wait, Paul, I can explain..."
While this is going on, I notice that everyone has all of a sudden gone silent in the restaurant because they know what Paul is going to do next. Paul hits the guy's face on the table so hard that I thought the table is going to break. One, two, three...four, five times over and over again while Paul is saying;
"You stupid mother fucker! You think you're a man when you hit a woman, who the fuck do you think you are?! Piece of shit, you think you're a tough guy, let me see you hit your wife again you piece of shit!"
Paul stands up and throws him to the ground while he starts to kick him. It's like Paul enjoys hurting him so much that he doesn't want to stop. Then he stops and bends down, grabbing his shirt by his collar and says;
"If I ever see you even looking at your wife with disrespect...I will kill you. Do you understand me? You drunk fat fuck?"
That's the first time I'm struck with fear so much so as I can't get myself to move away from this. The guy just lies there in his own blood and nods. Paul looks at the Gigantello brothers and tells them;
"Get this piece of shit out of here. If this piece of shit wasn't excepted into the family, I would kill him, and take him to Dr. Thomas, I don't want him to die."
Paul releases him from his grip and stands up. The Gigantello brothers walk up to the guy, helps him up, and take him out of the restaurant. One of the waiters brings Paul a bowl of water and a towel to clean his hands and the table. As Paul is cleaning his hands, he looks at me and says;
"So, Ricky, what did you learn today?"
I sit there staring at him as he continues;
"You don't lift your hands to a woman. You treat her with respect...you got that? If you can't respect your woman, how can you respect The Family? Respect is everything in this business. And the second was...sending a message is always a good thing. It keeps people in line"
I can't help to feel a little afraid of him. I sit there and the only thing I can do it nod. If you even dare thinking of crossing him...you might end up like this guy or you will just disappear. But I need to play my cards right if I want to get accepted. There is still a chance if my cousin Tommy Battagilo from Sicily can come to the States and vouch for me. Then I might be accepted.
My cousin Tommy Battagilo, he's the son of Tony Battagilo, the boss of the Battagilo Crime Family. We grew up together in Sicily and we were extremely close until my family moved to the States. Nowadays, we talk a lot over the phone. As his dad is keeping him in Sicily until he's old enough to come to America. But one day, he will be the boss and will take over the Battagilo Family business.
So, Tommy made one call to someone in the Angelio Crime Family, and suddenly, I'm sitting with Paul in his restaurant.
When I was in prison, I shared a cell with one of the kids that saw what happened the night my dad got killed in a cover-up. A member of a crime family was killed which "The Council" did not approve to kill. My dad was blamed for killing the member and got taken out for what he supposedly did.
When the kid knew who I was, he didn't say much to me at the beginning. But later on, we started to become good friends. We watched each other's backs while in the can. He got killed because he knew too much of a deal that went badly for some gang. But as luck would have it, he told me everything the night before he got killed. He told me every last detail of what happened the night my dad died.
The day I got out, I told Tommy everything that the kid told me about that night. There was great speculation about what happened that night, but no one was talking. Everyone knew that if they said a word, they would also end up in a ditch or just disappear. But then everything made sense and Tommy supported me. He told me he would go so far as to lie, to get me excepted into the Family.
Why would he lie? Because my dad was Sicilian and my mother was French. We could never be accepted into The Family because they have to trace our lineage back to Italy on both my mother and father's side. But Tommy, he's my golden ticket. If he vouches for me, then I'm in and then they will not check my lineage.
But he gave me a stern warning and if I recall correctly his exact words;
"Once you are in, then you need to take it from there and I can't give you any more help and the rest is up to you"
Then Paul looks at me and says;
"You see, now everyone will be asking...what happened to the fat fuck? Then they will say...that's what you get when you hit your wife". So you see the message is clear and everyone understands."
I look at Paul as he's wiping the blood off his hands and I say to him;
"I get it, Uncle Paul"
"Okay, that's enough, school is over for today. Now... go and deliver that package"
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Yeah, yeah? Don't be a wise ass. You're still too young to be a wise ass. Do you still remember what to do and who to give it to?"
"Sorry Uncle Paul. Yes, I still remember."
"Okay. Let me hear you say it."
"I get the package from your car. Without looking in it, take it straight to Uncle Jimmy and hand it to him and no one else. Then I give him the message that it's a "special delivery" from Uncle Paul. Then I leave Uncle Jimmy's and come straight back here and tell you that it's done."
"Good boy, now get out of here. Let's see if you can do what you are told, Mr. wise-ass."